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Tuesday, 3 March 2009

In the following op-ed, Asadullah Ghalib offers an analysis of the relationship between Nawaz Sharif and Saudi Arabi, and the shift in Sharif's strategy from a focus on war on terror to war gainst Asif Zardari.

11 comments:

ISLAMABAD, March 18: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has revealed that Osama bin Laden had offered to buy loyalties of legislators to see Mian Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. In an interview appearing in the magazine of an Urdu newspaper onSunday, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that Osama had visited the JI headquarters Mansoora and wanted to strike an agreement with the Jamaat but the suggestion was declined by him. Excerpts of the interview were published by the newspaper on Saturday. Qazi said he had met Osama several times in the past.

However, the JI on Saturday clarified that meetings between the JI amir and Osama in Peshawar and Lahore were held in days when the Al Qaeda leader was staying in Peshawar. Recalling political events that took place when Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and JI were components of the then Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, Qazi said Osama was a big supporter of IJI and Nawaz Sharif and wanted to see him Pakistan’s prime minister.

“Bin Laden was prepared to pay for buying parliamentarians’ votes to achieve this objective,” said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who also heads the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. He said a delegation sent by Osama had visited him in Peshawar and conveyed that they wanted cooperation from JI but “we declined the request”. In a statement issued on Saturday, a JI spokesman said that excerpts from interview were published in the daily and presented on a private TV channel in such a manner that they were creating confusion in the minds of people.—PPI

LONDON: PML-N President Mian Shahbaz Sharif has confirmed that during his meeting with the trusted friend of President Pervez Musharraf, Brig (retd) Niaz, shortly before his arrival in Britain, both had discussed “important political matters” of Pakistan, but no secret message was delivered to him from the presidency.

In an exclusive interview with The News after his arrival in London, Shahbaz said he had visited the residence of Brig Niaz, as he was not only their family friend but a well-wisher too. Explaining the nature of his meeting which triggered reports that perhaps once again Brig Niaz was out to bridge the gap between his common friends, the Sharif brothers and Musharraf, Shahbaz said he had visited his house to pay a courtesy call.

He said since he went to Pakistan in November last year, he had not met Brig Niaz, who was respected and admired in his family. He said he had come to know that Brig Niaz was ill and he went to inquire about his health.

When asked whether Brig Niaz had delivered any message of Musharraf in the changed situation, Shahbaz denied it outright and said no such message was given to him. To another question if he had discussed the current political situation with Brig Niaz, Shahbaz said, “Definitely, the political situation was discussed during the meeting and we both exchanged our political views on all the issues confronting Pakistan.”

“Of course, when we meet, like common Pakistanis, we also discuss the current political situation. It was very natural to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country,” said Shahbaz while defending his conversation on political issues with the trusted friend of General Musharraf.

Asked whether being an elder and old friend, Brig Niaz gave him any political advice about the political course the Sharif brothers should take now, Shahbaz replied that he always gave them advice that we all should work for the betterment of Pakistan. “I hope, Brig Niaz was giving similar advice to his friend General Musharraf, too,” Shahbaz said.

When told that his meeting with Brig Niaz had given currency to reports that finally the PML-N was bridging its gap with Musharraf, Shahbaz rejected this widely-perceived notion and wondered how one could draw such kind of wild conclusions.

He argued that one could have common friends and it did not mean that there was any new deal or arrangements in the making with Musharraf. To support his argument, Shahbaz said: “Now PPP senator Farooq Naik happened to be the brother-in-law of PML-N leader Khawaja Mohammad Asif. Does it mean that we should dismiss Khawaja Asif from our party, as he is related to a senator of PPP?”

Asked whether there was any possibility of his meeting with Musharraf in London, Shahbaz said: “Absolutely not”. When told that Brig Niaz was reaching London and whether he would meet him during his stay here, Shahbaz replied he had no idea whether Brig Niaz was also in London.

When asked whether the PML-N would become a part of a national government after the general elections in the country as proposed by Asif Zardari, Shahbaz said it was too early to comment on what would be the response of his party.

However, he said both the political parties had a working relationship and both had signed the Charter of Democracy in London, which might become the basis of cooperation in the future. He reiterated the demand that a neutral and independent government should hold free and fair elections in the country and the Election Commission should be strengthened to ensure transparency of polls. Shahbaz said by visiting the General Hospital Rawalpindi to mourn the killing of Benazir Bhutto on December 27 followed by his visit to Naudero, Nawaz Sharif had saved the federation.

Efforts on to revive Musharraf-Nawaz contacts By Rauf KlasraSaturday, August 25, 2007

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=9766

LONDON: Brigadier (retd) Niaz Ahmed, a secret negotiator between Nawaz Sharif and General Pervez Musharraf since the former prime minister’s days of exile in Jeddah, has reached London. The visit comes amid reports about revival of backdoor channels by the two parties to reach an understanding in the new scenario.

Another Musharraf aide is also said to be on his way to London to revive contacts with Nawaz after the exiled prime minister, in a big departure from his seven-year-old stance, dropped a hint at a press conference here on Thursday that he was ready to sit with General Musharraf for the sake of a grand political reconciliation if the president quit power.

It is being claimed here that the Musharraf camp, having left with little options following the SC verdict, is set to revive backdoor channels with Nawaz through a common friend Brigadier (retd) Niaz.

The family members of Brigadier Niaz confirmed to The News from Islamabad that he was in London. When this correspondent contacted his residence in London, the inmates said Brig Niaz would be available on Monday.

When contacted, Press Secretary to the President, Major General Rashid Qureshi told The News from Islamabad that he had no information about the revival of backdoor channels through Brigadier Niaz or for that matter Tariq Aziz visiting London.

The News tried to contact Shahbaz Sharif for his comments, but he was not available. The Musharraf camp is said to be quite optimistic aboutr eaching an understanding with the Nawaz camp, after involving Brigadier Niaz, who is highly respected by the Sharif brothers for what he has done for them in the past.

Sources said the first sign of flexibility in Nawaz Sharif's approach emerged at his Thursday’s press conference when replying to a question, he said he was ready to sit with General Musharraf if he announced to quit power. This change is said to have given enough space to the Musharraf camp to revive the old links.

Sources said the Musharraf camp might offer a safe landing to Nawaz in Pakistan. And he might be told that Musharraf is ready to take off his uniform before the presidential elections. But the PML-N should not resign from parliament as it had earlier announced. Nawaz might also be given an assurance that a level-playing field would be given to his party to contest the elections.

But a source told The News that Nawaz might not be tempted to strike a new deal with Musharraf after winning a legal battle because he was not expected to get anything significant in return in case Musharraf continued in power and Benazir Bhutto captured the slot of prime minister.

Sources said after the SC verdict, the Nawaz camp might not be ready to offer this big political price as by not resigning from the Parliament, the Sharif brothers might be agreeing to continuation of Musharraf in power and holding of elections under his supervision, something not acceptable to them and their charged followers.

ISLAMABAD: In a significant political development President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahbaz Sharif will have an important meeting with President Pervez Musharraf’s close aide and former instructor Brigadier (retd) Niaz Ahmad here in Islamabad today (Saturday).

Brigadier Niaz Ahmad had been playing the role of envoy to President Pervez Musharraf in interacting with the Sharif brothers in recent months first in London and lately in Saudi Arabia. The PML-N president has come to the federal capital for the purpose and the meeting is expected to help reduce tension between the presidential camp and its arch critic, the PML-N leadership.

It would be Shahbaz Sharif’s third meeting with the brigadier after the Sharif family returned home from exile. The brigadier had been playing the role of go between former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Pervez Musharraf.

Political observers are not ruling out a breakthrough between President Pervez Musharraf and Shahbaz Sharif within a day or two sequel to the meeting. Nawaz Sharif had expressed his willingness to meet the president conditionally early this week. He put the restoration of superior judiciary as the lone condition for such a meeting.

Highly placed sources told The News Friday evening that PML-N is inclined to play a positive role in reducing the prevailing tension in the country so that polls could be held in a free atmosphere where the president would not feel any hesitation to hand over power to any party that could win the majority vote.

The meeting would be a landmark occasion in view of the upcoming elections which are less than five weeks away. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has already softened its tone towards the administration to smoothen the atmosphere and concentrating on electioneering, the sources pointed out. It appears that all the stakeholders are in a reconciliation mood in the interest of holding the polls in a peaceful manner.

The emanating threats to the country’s nuclear programme and increasing suicide bombings that has hurt the social and economic fibre of the country are proving the source of motivation for the major political parties to help lower political temperature so that the enemy does not take advantage of the situation.

President Pervez Musharraf is also following the path of reconciliation and his Thursday interview with a Singapore newspaper to hint at resigning if an impeachment motion was moved against him in the Parliament after the polls, is believed to be an expression of change of his mind.

Brigadier Niaz Ahmad is the one who worked out details for return of the Sharif family to Pakistan in November last year. He assisted the team of the Presidential camp first in London and then in Jeddah for making their return smooth, the sources said.

The president’s former Chief of Staff General Hamid Javed led the Presidential team in the initial talks. The sources said that President Pervez Musharraf had marathon meetings with Brigadier Niaz Ahmad in Rawalpindi this week where vital national interests, especially the precarious security situation came up for discussion.

The brigadier is widely respected in the army as he has taught almost every general currently sitting at the helm of affairs in the GHQ. He is in his late 80s and has unblemished record during the service of armed forces of Pakistan. He resigned on April 10, 1977 in Lahore when he was commanding the troops and martial law was imposed. He was ordered to fire at the people protesting against the government but instead of shooting at the innocent people he opted to resign there and then.

In an exclusive chat with The News, Brigadier Niaz Ahmad said Friday evening that he has received a call from Shahbaz Sharif, who will be visiting him on Saturday. “I have no political ambition. I wish to serve my country that need healing handling. Every one of us must play our role at this critical juncture,” the brigadier said in a sentimental tone.

Brigadier Niaz has planned to leave for London tomorrow on a private visit. If there is any follow up meeting at a different level, it would take place before his departure for the UK, the sources opined.

Interestingly, Nawaz Sharif is also in the proximity of the federal capital and Shahbaz will report to him immediately after the meeting. The Sharif brothers will evolve some strategy after the meeting today. They will also have consultations with their political allies and party leaders for any further action, the sources added.

The regime of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] has invited ex-Premier Nawaz Sharif's brother Shahbaz to be part of the national government to be formed before next month's general election and proposed a future role for him after the polls, according to a media report.

Shahbaz, the president of PML-N party, dashed to Islamabad on Saturday for a day-long visit, during which he held separate meetings with Brigadier (retired) Niaz Ahmad, a close aide of Musharraf, Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadhi Al Asseri and Wajahat Latif, former chief of the Federal Investigation Agency.

PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal had denied reports of contacts between the military regime and the party, saying Shahbaz was meeting Ahmad as the latter was a close friend and was unwell.

Local daily Dawn, however, quoted sources as saying that Ahmad had passed on a message from Musharraf to Shahbaz "about the formation of a national government before the general election."

Sources in the PML-N said Musharraf had suggested that Shahbaz should become a part of the proposed government. They said Musharraf had also proposed a future role for Shahbaz after the February 18 parliamentary polls.

Shahbaz told Ahmad that he would not reply to the proposals without consulting his brother, the sources said.

This was the second meeting between Shahbaz and Ahmad last week. Neither side would confirm or deny that they had met earlier.

Speculation about negotiations between the PML-N and the regime increased as Shahbaz also met the ambassador of Saudi Arabia, which played a key role in the return of the Sharif brothers to Pakistan from exile in November

The sources also said Ahmad had requested the Sharif brothers to soften the language against Musharraf at their public meetings.

Ahmad, a former instructor to Musharraf, has been negotiating with PML-N and PPP leaders for the past few years and had held several meeting with the Sharif brothers while they were in exile in London [Images] and Saudi Arabia.

A group of reporters spotted Shahbaz on Saturday, outside the residence of the retired brigadier when he was leaving after their meeting. Shahbaz told them his meeting with Ahmad should not be construed as a political move and that he had come only to pay a courtesy call.

Shahbaz said free and fair elections were unlikely as the government was making every effort to rig them by carrying out massive transfers of government officials after the announcement of the election schedule. He called for the reconstitution of the Election Commission.

PML-N spokesman Iqbal even said Musharraf should quit so that a national unity government could be formed to oversee impartial polls. But senior PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan indicated that the party had officially received some sort of a proposal for forming a national unity government.

Tariq Azeem, a minister in former prime minister Shaukat Aziz's cabinet, said that the ruling PML-Q had been 'weighing the pros and cons of a national unity government for some time'. He denied that the proposal was aimed at delaying the general election.

"The formation of a national government before the elections would allay fears of poll rigging," Azeem said

THE high drama informing the two-term former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s short-lived return to the Pakistani soil, on September 10, had all the essential ingredients of a Hollywood thriller. In the end it played out to the script that had been polished and fine-tuned in Islamabad’s cloistered halls of power in the preceding few days.

It’s hard to think that Nawaz Sharif didn’t have doubts in his mind about Islamabad as his finaldestination that fateful day as he winged his way to Pakistan on board flight PK 786. His belief in the numerological blessings of 786 notwithstanding, he must have had premonitions aplenty to take the last-minute decision at London’s Heathrow to leave his younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, behind so he may watch the family and party ramparts while he, himself, embarked on an uncertain journey. His sixth sense served him better, at least in this instance.

There is good reason to believe that the visit of the head of the Saudi intelligence to Islamabad, a couple of days earlier, must have rung the alarm bells in the Nawaz camp in London. It was, by any standard, an extraordinary visit. It was highly unusual for him to come rushing down to Islamabad and weigh into the ongoing war of nerves between Nawaz and the Pakistani establishment.

Why did he come to Islamabad was no mystery. He came because General Musharraf was running out of cards in his hand and sought help from quarters few Pakistanis had any conception of. The apex court had administered another punch in his face by ruling that Nawaz Sharifhad “an inalienable right,” like any other Pakistani, to come and stay in his own country. The court made small work of the much-touted ‘agreement’ as per the official version but according to the Nawaz camp only an ‘understanding.’ Whatever it was, fish or fowl, it was worthless in the context of the constitutional right of a citizen of Pakistan to come back to his mother country at will.

So the Saudi prince said all that General Musharraf wanted him to. In another unusual departure from the norm, he also addressed a press conference. What he said may well have been music to the general’s ears but sounded jarringly arrogant to ordinary Pakistanis. He brushed aside the Supreme Court’s verdict by saying that the ‘agreement’ came before the court’s decision in favour of Nawaz. So, according to his logic, the so-called agreement should take precedent over thecourt award. Twisted logic as it may sound to many, his words meant exactly that in spirit, too, to him because there’s scant concept of the independence of the judiciary in his system.

The Saudi was entitled to his mindset and his interpretation of law. The question is why were hisPakistani hosts so readily inclined to swallow his reflexive denigration of the rule of law in Pakistan? Did they not need to remind him that in Pakistan the judiciary is on a footing of equality with the state executive? This fact shouldn’t have needed a reminder given the experience of the past six months or so to which every Pakistani is a witness.

Going by the comments of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain— Musharraf’s most trusted confidant among the politicos—the general was forced to cast the die in favour of Nawaz’ deportation after being persuaded by the moral ‘pressure’ of the Saudi intelligence chief. Bravo. General Musharraf was persuaded by Colin Powell’s one telephone call, in the wake of 9/11, and relented with dispatch to become a front-line soldier in Bush’s ‘war on terror.’ Here, in this case, theSaudi intelligence chief unnerved him to do what he did, otherwise, as Shujaat argued, he was initially swayed by his (Shujaat’s) reasoning that Nawaz should be allowed to prove his mettle at the polls. Interestingly, the Saudi Ambassador in Islamabad is denying that any pressure was applied from his government’s side. So, who’s not telling the truth in this bizarre affair?

The argument that Nawaz should have been allowed a free hand has resonance with most reasonable men. This newspaper said the same thing, editorially, on the heels of his unceremonious and undignified banishment to Jeddah. Heavens wouldn’t have fallen if Nawaz were given the freedom to make a show of his return to active politics. Benazir, upon her return from exile in 1986, was accorded that facility and heavens didn’t tumble over the ‘land of the pure’ as a consequence of that.

General Ziaul Haq had more guile and tact in being flexible than Musharraf’s inert rigidity. He was also, no doubt, a lot more confident of his position. Musharraf has his back to the wall and, with the gut instinct of a trained commando, feels that the best tactic is to attack his adversary with full force. It’s, basically, a question of survival to him.

But didn’t anyone among his legions of advisers and confidants point out to him that his readiness to oblige his Saudi mentors, and send Nawaz to them as a Ramadhan present, carried the seeds of another round of confrontation with the apex court of Pakistan in its womb, something he can ill afford in his embattled position? Or is it that those close to him are deliberately leading him down that path, knowing full well its spillover?

Be it doesn’t answer the question why should the Saudis be so keen to meddle in Pakistan’s domestic affairs and that too so conspicuously, and so contrary to their style? What was the compulsion for them, other than their on-exhibition regard for the verbal and /or written undertaking of Nawaz Sharif given, seven years ago, when he was under terrible mental andphysical pressure? Any commitment made under duress is shady in the eyes of law.

That’s where sceptics and cynics come up with a fairly persuasive logic informing the Saudi legwork in support of Musharraf.

It can’t be dismissed as run-of-the-mill or ‘bazaar-logic’ that the Saudis and Saad Hariri, scionof Lebanon’s slain Rafiq Hariri—who was a protégé of the Saudis—flew into action to buttress an American game plan that seemed under threat if Nawaz Sharif was allowed to become an active player on Pakistan’s current political turf. Washington has a lot of assets riding on Musharraf, whose continuity in power, with a new equation in which Benazir Bhutto is perceived asan essential partner, is the key to the longevity of the war on terror, especially in the Afghan theatre.The ‘deal’ is central to the American plan to forge a new political face of Pakistan in which Musharraf’s ‘enlightened moderation’ is wedded to Benazir’s social liberalism. Benazir is agog at the prospect of such a marriage of convenience with Musharraf, in which Washington is the match-maker. There’s no place in such a script for Nawaz, who earned Washington’s ire by refusing to keep Pakistan’s nuclear ambition on hold in 1998. His recent pronouncements, in support of the war on terror are helpful, but not quite. He’s in favour of a national consensus on the war on terror, in which the parliament would be an active player and catalyst. That doesn’t appeal to Washington, which prefers dealing with one or two individuals rather than a 350-strong parliament with a cacophony of voices and opinions.

The Saudis are anxious to wash away the stains of the guilt associated with them in the American minds in the context of 9/11. They have been tilting at all windmills to oblige their allies in Washington. Theirs is, after all, a camaraderie going back more than sixty years. The Saudi moral bearings on Pakistan are reverential and awe-inspiring, especially since the Zia era. The Saudis may not have that much faith in Musharraf as they did in Zia but when the chips were down they couldn’t say no to their American allies.

It’s for Nawaz Sharif to decide if his Saudi mentors are still friends to him or have they shifted gears and turned towards Musharraf’s direction under the dictates of a new ball game envisioned for Pakistan. Is Nawaz being consigned to the comforts of a gilded cage, a world-apart from the rough and tumble of Pakistani politics? Only time would tell.

But the most important and relevant imponderable is the reaction of the Supreme Court which may still have the last word in the episode. General Musharraf may have won this battle at Islamabad Airport—a pyrrhic victory, at best—but is in imminent danger of losing the war. n

Correspondent below is brother of Hamid Mir - GEO TV/ and also works for Jang Group

The deal which brought Sharif back on Pak soil

Amir Mir

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1135484

Sunday, November 25, 2007 23:59 IST

Sharif promises King Abdullah that he won’t usepolitics of agitation against Pervez Musharraf

LAHORE: Having spent seven years in exile, formerPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan onSunday evening, but not without striking a deal withthe Musharraf regime through the good offices of SaudiKing, Abdullah. The deal states that Sharif would notresort to politics of agitation to overthrow Musharraf— his arch rival, who had toppled Sharif’s governmentin October 1999 and sent him into forced exile.

According to highly-placed insiders in the Sharif-ledPakistan Muslim League, before being allowed to returnhome with Royal protocol, Sharif had given acommitment to King Abdullah that he won’t confrontMusharraf. Sharif, however, wanted to ensure thatMusharraf does not reopen the pending cases againsthim or tries to stop him from contesting theelections.

According to government sources, the deal betweenSharif and the Musharraf regime involves therestoration of Sharif’s business interests in Pakistanand his Model Town residence, which was confiscated bythe regime.

A Sharif family source said that during his meetingwith Sharif on Saturday, King Abdullah recited someverses from the Quran, while urging Sharif tocontribute for the well-being of Pakistan. The kingnot only asked the Pakistan government to take care ofhis security, but also gifted a bullet-proof car tothe former Pakistan prime minister.

3 - Saddam invaded Kuwait - [Immediately a Fatwa was issued - "During the Iran-Iraq war, Saudi Arabia bankrolled the Saddam Hussein regime with the express approval of Washington DC which at that time saw Saddam Hussein as a bulwark against Shia fundamentalism. It came as a terrific shock to the Saudi Royals when Saddam Hussein turned his attention to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Again, the Royal family turned to the Ulema and obtained (with difficulty) a Fatwa, permitting the use of non-Muslim foreign troops on Saudi soil to defend Saudi Arabia against a foreign invader - one the Ulema regarded as a secular apostate. Thus the Saudi Royal family invited the USA to send it its troops for Operation Desert Storm- the operation to defend Saudi Arabia and liberate Kuwait - largely at Saudi expense." As per 9/11 Commission Report “In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Bin Ladin, whose efforts in Afghanistan had earned him celebrity and respect, proposed to the Saudi monarchy that he summon mujahideen for a jihad to retake Kuwait. He was rebuffed, [Saudi Fatwa issued in 90s against Osama Bin Ladin - http://abdurrahman.org/jihad/binlaadin.pdf Usama Ibn Ladin Al-Kharijee (our position toward him and his likes) - By Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullaah Ibn Baz [PDF] - Taken from http://www.troid.org/] and the Saudis joined the U.S.-led coalition. After the Saudis agreed to allow U.S. armed forces to be based in the Kingdom, Bin Ladin and a number of Islamic clerics began to publicly denounce the arrangement. The Saudi government exiled the clerics and undertook to silence Bin Ladin by, among other things, taking away his passport. With help from a dissident member of the royal family, he managed to get out of the country under the pretext of attending an Islamic gathering in Pakistan in April 1991.”

Yet Muslims have the audacity to complain!

Corruption doth appear on land and sea because of (the evil) which men's hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return. [AL-ROOM (THE ROMANS, THE BYZANTINES) Chapter 30 - Verse 41]

Now watch the pictures of Saudi Kings/Sheikhs with American Presidents, in the light of Quranic Verse above.

The meeting between King Abdulaziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Febuary 14, 1945 set the stage for close Saudi-U.S. relations.

King Saud bin Abdulaziz met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon during a state visit to Washington, DC, in 1957.

During his visit to San Francisco, California, to sign the United States Charter in 1945, then-Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz met with President Harry Truman.

Crown Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz met with President John F. Kennedy in Washington, DC, in 1962

King Faisal bin Abdulaziz met with President Richard Nixon in 1971.

King Faisal bin Abdulaziz with President Lyndon B JohnsonRichard Nixon in 1966.

Crown Prince Fahd met with President Jimmy Carter and former President Gerald Ford during a visit to Washington, DC, in 1977.

President Ronald Reagan welcomed King Fahd to the White House in 1985.

Commander of the National Guard Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz met with President Ford in the White House in 1976.

King Khaled bin Abdulaziz and then-Crown Prince Fahd with President Carter in Riyadh in 1978.

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz and Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz met with Secretary of Defense William Cohen in the Pentagon in 1999.

King Fahd and President George Bush met in Riyadh in November 1990to discuss the liberation of Kuwait.

During a meeting at the White House on September 20, 2001, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal assured President George W. Bush of Saudi Arabia's full cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

King Fahd hosted a visit to Saudi Arabia by President Bill Clinton in October 1994. Their meeting was attended by Ambassador Prince Bandar.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and George Bush

Muslims should not complain and should do this for a qucik recovery:

Allah hath promised such of you as believe and do good work that He will surely make them to succeed (the present rulers) in the earth even as He caused those who were before them to succeed (others); and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He hath approved for them, and will give them in exchange safety after their fear. They serve Me. They ascribe no thing as partner unto Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth, they are the miscreants. [AL-NOOR (THE LIGHT) Chapter 24 - Verse 55]

ISLAMABAD: Brig (retd) Niaz, a friend of President Pervez Musharraf, had more than once facilitated return of some female members of the Sharif family to Pakistan in the past to attend to family affairs.

He had no acquaintance with the Sharif family until he was approached by a common friend a few years ago, seeking his help in facilitating travel of female members of the Sharif family to Pakistan through his good offices with President Pervez Musharraf to attend marriages of their relatives. Sharifs were then in Jeddah.

"I was groomed in an environment that doesn't allow being discourteous with anybody expressing his desire to meet him," the former brigadier had told this correspondent before Nawaz made an abortive attempt to return to Pakistan on Sept 10 last year.

Niaz met the Sharifs in London where he had primarily gone for treatment. The soldier had sought that since he was an apolitical person he should be spared from being embroiled in any controversy. He did not agree to a record chat, but consented to tell the story about his contacts with Sharifs and how relations between Musharraf and him built up.

Before his failed attempt to return to Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was thrashing Musharraf in his live news conferences in London. At that point, one clearly noticed that Niaz was greatly distressed by Sharifs' diatribe against Musharraf. But he was helpless and felt embarrassed. His last encounter with Sharifs in London had turned out to be a futile exercise when he failed to convince Nawaz Sharif to delay his return to Pakistan for some time.

However, when the common friend had urged Niaz to talk to the president, he was quick to say yes. He had met Musharraf and secured the requisite go-ahead for Sharifs to attend marriages in their family.

The six feet-plus tall former brigadier, originally hailing from Chakwal, one of the main recruiting areas of the Pakistan Army, faced no difficulty in obtaining the president's consent for Sharifs to come back, saying that female members should not suffer for the faults of their male elders.

During his meetings with Sharifs, Niaz had been urging them to show restraint towards the president, realising the grave situation in Pakistan. But the two brothers had never practically did that and kept on with their rhetoric.

Niaz again hit the headlines last week when Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif met him at his Islamabad residence. This was basically meant to thank and show respect to the former brigadier for facilitating the Sharif family at the most difficult time for a private affair.

"This was basically a courtesy call from Shahbaz, who was meeting people that had come to their rescue during their time in exile," a PML-N leader told The News. "Like Niaz's previous encounters with Sharifs, this one, too, failed to moderate them. Niaz, however, did stress that Sharifs should lower their temperament," he said.

When one had met Niaz, the judicial crisis was at its peak and Musharraf had been pushed to the wall. The former brigadier was extremely distraught over the point where Musharraf had gone because of the immense public pressure. He was also displeased with what a set of judges of the Supreme Court and his detractors were doing against the president. Particularly, Sharifs unhealthy role in the whole situation disturbed him a lot. He gave the impression as if his mission miserably failed.

Cigar-smoking Niaz did not know Musharraf at all till a former colonel, who was his and the president's friend, arranged a meeting between them. This is how the two became friends. Niaz was penniless when he had to leave the Army in 1977 for his refusal to fire at protesters during the limited martial law in Lahore. He was extremely worried about how he and his children, including a blind daughter, would make both ends meet. He had no home, no other resources to fall back on.

It was the then Chief of the Army Staff Mirza Aslam Beg who, knowing Niaz since long, enquired after his plight and came to know about his condition. He pushed him to involve himself in defence purchases. Niaz was reluctant, saying he has no experience in the field and did not know complexities of the business.

Finally, he agreed and earned kudos. He later bought the present sprawling house in Islamabad. Wherever he went in army offices for business purpose, he found officers, who had been his students in the Army when he was an instructor. It turned out to be an easy sailing for him all around.

Niaz, around 80, has been seriously ill for the past few years. He was suffering from memory loss and other brain problems that also resulted in significant weight loss. He has to give up some of his old habits, including cigarette smoking, but sought permission from doctors to smoke cigar, which was less injurious. He visits Britain off and one for treatment.

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A tribute to Pakistani soliders fighting the terrorists of Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Sipah-e-Sahaba

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto 1953-2007

Ghalib

The rose, with its redolent petalsThe water lily, with its robe of virgin whiteThese have surely come to us in transmigrationOf but a few of thoseEndowed with sublime beauty and grace.Some embrace death to sprout againBut most, forever, in dust remain.

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Jab ishq sikhata hai adabe khud agahi

(Only) When love teaches the etiquette of self-knowledge,Are the Imperial Mysteries revealed to the slaves!Whether it be Attar or Rumi, Razi or Ghazali,Nothing comes to hand without supplication in the early dawnDo not lose hope in them, 0' wise guide!Even though the wayfarers are slow-moving,They are not without zeal (to reach the goal)! (Iqbal)